Description given on Youtube:
A cowboy remembers the days of the great cattle drives, and the transformation of the western plains into a cattle kingdom. (8 mins)
This module tells the story of the great cattle drives in the years after the American Civil War, when cheap southern beef was driven north out of Texas to the railheads of Kansas, to feed the cities in the North and on the eastern seaboard. Teddy Blue Abbott, a cowboy from those days, recalls the drover’s life; he recalls how the trail became impassible once the homesteaders fenced off the Plains; and he recalls his last great drive, north to Montana, where he bought some land and exchanged the life of a drover for the life of a rancher.
Written and directed by Andrew Chater.
Originally commissioned and broadcast by the BBC.
Copyright Andrew Chater / Lodestar Productions / Timelines.tv, streamed with the BBC’s consent.
Watch the full American West resource in an interactive timeline at www.timelines.tv